New Delhi: Entries in case diaries are not evidence nor can they be used by an accused in court, Delhi High Court underlined on Monday, rejecting a plea by accused activist Devangana Kalita in this regard.She had sought preservation and reconstruction of the case diaries in the police probe against her in relation to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.Justice Ravinder Dudeja, however, allowed Kalita’s prayer to direct that the case diaries be preserved while noting that it “is not the evidence, but its absence may affect the fairness of the trial and, therefore, directions may be given to preserve it”.The court pointed out that the “power of giving such directions flows from the court’s duty to ensure compliance with Article 21 (of the Constitution) and its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC” while making its Dec 2, 2024, interim order for the preservation of the case diaries absolute.Kalita had challenged a trial court’s Nov 6 order, which refused to call the case diary before it. Police had argued that it would delay the matter further.Justice Dudeja underlined that it was within the court’s competence to read the police diary “only for aid and for satisfying its conscience in appreciating the legal evidence available on record but not beyond”. It noted, “The denial of the right to the accused to inspect the case diary cannot be characterised as unreasonable or arbitrary. The confidentiality is always kept in the investigation and it is not desirable to make available the police diary to the accused on his demand.“Referring to specific pages of the case diary, booklet numbers 9990 and 9989, the court said these didn’t form part of the case diary in this case. Kalita’s counsel alleged that police had added the “antedated” statements to the case diary, which was impermissible in law.The high court stressed that CrPC gives “unfettered power” to the trial court to call for and examine entries in police diaries. “This is a very important safeguard. The legislature has reposed complete trust in the court conducting the inquiry or the trial. If there is any inconsistency or contradiction arising in the evidence, the court can use the entries made in the diaries for the purposes of contraditing the police officer,” it observed. The bench partly upheld the reasoning of the trial court that at this stage, it could not look into the truthfulness and veracity of Kalita’s allegations that raised a “suspicion on the version of the investigating agency” and asked her to raise the issue at an appropriate stage.
